Chapter 1
The young boy ran down the hall weaving through the throngs of people moving out of the main chamber. His breath was short and raspy as he finally slowed, walking up to a large door. Regaining breath, the boy banged on the hard wood. Waiting silently for a few seconds he heard footsteps on the other side approaching the door. Opening the door a young woman stood peering out the crack. She raised her eyebrows when she noticed the boy and opening the door further gestured for him to enter. As he entered the long hall he noticed at the other end a small group of women. He walked towards them until they parted, revealing a woman in the center looking at him kindly. The boy immediately fell to his knees in a bow. Hearing her ask him to stand he climbed to his feet. He looked down at his feet too frightened to look up at the woman.
“What brings you here child? It looks as though it is urgent.” Her voice was concerned and the boy finally looked up with slight fear in his eyes. He nodded his head fast before taking in a deep breath.
“I was sent here from the communications room. They told me to tell Her Majesty that Terra has just been attacked by an unknown force.” His voice began shaking as he ended his sentence. Everyone in the room was looking at him wide eyed. Finally, the queen walked up to him and placed her porcelain hand on his shoulder.
“Thank you for coming straight here and informing me. Now, I would like you to go find one of the guardians and inform them that a council will be held immediately. All of them must attend. Do you remember all of that?” Again the boy nodded his head before bowing and turning, ran out of the hall to fulfill his new task.
The queen turned around and walked up to her thrown. She sat down deep in thought with a frown on her face. Nothing like this has happened in this domain for thousands of years… Who is this new enemy? She stirred out of her thoughts, hearing someone enter the hall. Her daughter, Kira, entered running up to the thrown wearing her training armor. Seconds later, two more girls ran into the hall wearing the same outfits. Each of them bowed quickly before approaching the queen.
“Mother! What is this I hear that Terra has been attacked? That’s impossible. No one has invaded them since before I was born!” Kira said in absolute disbelief. The queen smiled sadly.
“I’m afraid all of it is true my daughter. Luckily enough the Prince and the warriors were not there at the time of the attack. Whether it was planned that way is yet to be revealed.” Kira seemed to sigh with slight relief at the mention of the prince being alive.
“Queen Akaisha, what are we going to do now?” A young woman with pale brown hair asked. They waited patiently for the queen’s response as she tried to think of a reasonable plan of action.
“I believe that all we can do is wait, for now. When the prince has arrived we will hold a meeting and find out the true extent of the damage. If it is as bad as I fear it is then we will take powerful actions. If it comes to it, we might call on the darkness. I’m sure Caedmon’s friend Braeden will know more about it.” The three girls nodded their head before turning and leaving to wash up for the council.
There was a large round table in the center of the room which could seat almost twenty people. At one end sat the queen, her daughter and four other young women. On the other side sat Prince Caedmon and three other men. In the corner of the room stood another man. Caedmon had arrived a few hours ago and not long afterwards the meeting had begun. He explained the extent of the damages and what had happened.
“Luckily Terra’s councilors were able to make any signs of an invasion disappear from the citizens. I would have hated to think what would have happened if they found out that we were being attacked. The only thing the citizens know is that a cult is murdering people. That’s all we would like them to know, but if it happens again it will become more difficult to hide. From the evidence I’ve seen I believe that the attackers were vampires.” As Caedmon finished everyone silently looked over to the man in the corner. His eyes were closed almost as if he were sleeping. He didn’t react and everyone turned their attention back to the pictures the man left of Caedmon was passing out. Slowly each of the girls looked at the pictures and quickly put them down. Each looked at one other and felt a chill go up their spines. Akaisha looked over to Caedmon, her face was grave.
“It appears as though you are right about the vampires being the attackers.” Her voice was calm, but her face betrayed her true emotions, showing slight fear and sadness.
“It wasn’t vampires.” The voice surprised everyone as they turned their attention to the man in the corner. He stood there another second before opening his eyes and pushing himself off of the wall. He walked gracefully to the table and peered down at one of the pictures.
“We only bite with our upper canines, leaving only two marks. Using four canines causes too much blood to pour out of the vein which would waste the whole purpose of feeding plus it is far to messy for our liking. We like to be neat, not letting the blood run all over the body like that. There are four marks on these bodies. It wasn’t vampires.” They looked at him wide eyed. Letting the information sink in the man walked back over to the wall and resumed his original position. Finally, Akaisha looked away from the man and stared at the table intensely.
“I fear that this new enemy of ours is going to be highly dangerous. It’s very frustrating to think that we know nothing of them too. I believe we should tell the communications room to ask other kingdoms and galaxies if they have encountered anything like this. We need to ask their warriors to come to the palace. This has not happened here before.” The room was silent, each person trying to figure what was happening to their galaxy.
“What do you mean it has not happened here before? Are you saying that it has happened somewhere else?” A man to the right of Caedmon asked. His features were sharp as his eyes watched her with uneasiness. Akaisha sighed before looking around the room at the young warriors. They are all so young. Will they have to die saving our home? They haven’t lived their lives fully.
“Yes, it has happened before. A galaxy far from here was destroyed by an unknown enemy a long time ago. No one figured out who or what they were and before they knew it their solar systems were destroyed in the blink of an eye. This was many millennia’s ago.” Her eyes drifted over to the man in the corner quickly as she felt his eyes on her. All of them looked at her shocked.
“Do you mean to tell us that it could be the same people?” Kira asked.
“Yes, but they are not as strong this time because they don’t have what they had then. The dark crystal.” Her eyes continued to watch the man in the corner as he stared at her.
“How do you know?” Caedmon was trying to refrain from looking over to Braeden who he knew had come from the planet where the dark crystal originated. Akaisha turned her gaze to Caedmon and smiled sadly.
“Because they would have already destroyed us for one, and two, I know who holds the dark crystal. Her exact location is a mystery but I have my hunches.” No one knew how to respond to that. Waiting a few minutes for someone to ask something Akaisha stood up, dismissing the meeting.
“We will meet again tomorrow before you each go on your missions. I would like Kira and her group to go to Caligo and ask for the princess. It is the best place to start. Caedmon, you just worry about your planet. I will need your warriors though.” Caedmon nodded his head and turning stole a quick glance to the man in the corner before walking out of the chamber.
Kira and her group walked faster as they drew closer to the portal between Terra and Caligo. Maia, the one with the pale brown hair, walked beside Kira. Each of them was silent reviewing their mission over and over in their mind. Kira stopped causing Ares and Circe to collide into her back. Recovering, they stood around the boulder.
“So your mother actually wants us to get the source of all evil?” Circe asked looking doubtfully at the giant rock. Kira smirked.
“I learned a long time ago to stop asking why my mother does certain things. She told me last night after the meeting not to judge the holder immediately that just because she held the dark crystal didn’t necessarily mean that she was evil.” Cloacina nodded her head, pushing her bright orange hair behind her ears.
“So, are we going to do this or what?” Cloacina asked. They turned their eyes to her and nodded. Kira walked up to the boulder and placed her hand inside a hole. The four young women lined up behind her. Seconds later a blinding light appeared and fading away revealed that the girls were gone.
A young woman of about twenty stepped out of the warmth of the tavern into the cold winter wind. Burying her face farther down into her coat she walked quickly down the street, clutching the bag of food closer to her in an attempt not to drop the contents. Her long brown hair whipped around her as she turned the corner and was blasted with a wall of freezing air. Turning right down a small alley she continued winding through the narrow paths until she came to a small street with older homes. Crossing the street she walked a few yards before turning into a walkway leading to a two story house.
The young woman stood in the kitchen staring blankly out the window. I can feel it. I’m starting to get fatigued. Must mean that it’s time to feed soon. I hate this….
“Sis! Sis! Some ladies are here to see you!” The small girl yelled over the chanting of the others.
“Ok! Thank you for getting the door, now go to your rooms and wait until I call you down. Whoever I catch peeping will have to wash the dishes.” All the children fled up the stairs as the woman walked to the door and placed her hand on the cold metal handle. Hearing all the bedroom doors close she twisted the knob and opened the door.
It felt like she was having a flashback as she stared at the young woman in front of her. Regaining her manners she invited the group inside. She hid her surprise behind a mask of coolness as she waited for them to warm up. Finally, a girl with pale blonde hair turned to her with emerald eyes.
“I am Princess Ki—”
“I know who you are. I’m actually surprised it took you this long to find me. I’m assuming your mother told you to find me?” Kira was caught off guard by the woman’s curt attitude. It angered her to think that this woman could talk about her mother like that. Cloacina took a step towards the woman with a threatening glare. The woman just raised an eyebrow and smirked. Kira held her arm out in front of Cloacina and turned her attention back to the woman.
“I’m guessing you’re the one we have been looking for. How did you know that we were searching for you?” Kira watched the woman suspiciously. The woman’s face turned emotionless as she contemplated whether to answer.
“Everyone is always trying to find me. Either to be killed or to be used. Both are to my disliking personally. If you are looking for Cailean, princess of Caligo, then you have found her. I could feel your energy through the portal. I knew that it wasn’t vampires’, and humans here don’t know about the portal so I figured that it was one of the guardians.” Her voice held no emotion as she felt the adrenaline rush through the girls’ bodies. Their heart beats filled her ears as she tried to stop herself from losing control. Kira took a small step towards Cailean.
“My mother wishes you come back to Cynthus with us. Something terrible has happened and we need your help.” Cailean snorted leaving the five young women staring at her shocked.
“I’m sure, just so you all can kill me when I’m not looking. I wouldn’t be able to anyways. I run an orphanage if you haven’t noticed. I can’t leave these kids alone.” The five of them stood there frozen in their steps at Cailean’s attitude. Kira clenched her fist angrily.
“We aren’t going to kill you. Sadly, it wouldn’t solve any of our problems. You must come. Our galaxy is being threatened by an unknown evil. We could have one of our servants watch over the children or something.” Cailean was actually slightly surprised at the coldness in the princess’s words. Closing her eyes she thought it over for a few seconds. I’m doomed either way right? Opening her eyes she looked Kira straight in the eyes.
“It’s not my galaxy that has to worry about being destroyed.” Kira’s mouth dropped as she stared at Cailean dumbfounded. Cailean sighed.
“But, I will go with you anyways. I will have some friends of mine watch over them. If anything happens to these kids I will come for you all.” Kira straightened her back and nodded her head.
Cailean kept her head down, letting her hair cover her face as she followed the female warriors down the hall. Stopping in front of a door, Kira knocked. They waited a few seconds before someone finally opened it. Entering the large room Cailean could feel everyone staring at her. Suddenly she looked up when she felt a pair of familiar eyes on her. Her eyes immediately fell on a man standing in the corner. His eyes stared at her emotionlessly. Hate and anger filled her being as she stopped herself from shivering. Looking away her attention was caught by the older woman in the center of the room. The queen’s hair was a paler blonde than her daughter’s. Her skin looked like porcelain and her eyes seemed to pierce Cailean’s soul. A knot constricted her throat, preventing her from saying anything. Akaisha took a couples steps towards Cailean and was about to place her hand on her Cailean’s shoulder when she stepped to the side.
“I don’t like to be touched.” She whispered to Akaisha. The queen looked at the younger woman. She nodded her head and smiled sadly before turning and walking back to her original spot.
“You may stay in your own room in the east wing. Please make yourself comfortable and let me know if you need anything. You will be working with Kira and her group. Maybe even a couple warriors from other kingdoms of the alliance. Kira will show you your room. Ares, Cloacina, Maia and Circe please greet our other new arrivals at the gate.” Cailean turned and followed Kira out without another look towards the man in the corner.
Cailean watched out of the corner of her eye all the people that stared at her as she passed them. A smirk played across her lips as she filtered through their thoughts. They finally arrived in a wide corridor with doors lining both sides. Kira stopped in front of one and opened the door, waiting for Cailean to enter. Walking into the room Cailean looked around astounded at the size of it. Kira stood in the doorway and watched as Cailean walked around the room grasping at the enormous size. Finally, Cailean turned her attention back to Kira. A small smile was on her lips as she looked at Kira.
“I’m sorry I was cruel. I do not warm up to people easily.” Kira was surprised by the kind tone in her voice. Getting over her shock she smiled and nodded her head.
“I can understand why.” Cailean smiled again and sighed when Kira turned and left. She doesn’t remember. I guess that’s what Akaisha wants though. Bitterness filled Cailean as she thought of the queen. You only want to be my friend when your galaxy is in danger. Other than that you just want me miserable. Turning, Cailean lay on the bed and curled into a ball. So what do I do from here? Cailean sighed again, burying her face into knees.
Cailean sat on the stone bench and watched as Kira and her warriors trained. She had been here almost a week and none of them had really talked to her other than Kira and Prince Caedmon. She knew that they felt uneasy with her being around. So it begins again. All the torture from before starts anew. They are scared of me because of the crystal. They probably think that I’m going to kill them all or something. Sooner or later that might happen. Maybe it was better not to have come after all. I just want to go home. After a while they started fighting each other. Kira walked over to Cailean and held out her hand to her.
“Come train with us. We want to see how good you are.” Cailean looked at her hand and smirked.
“I should fight one of the guys. They will be closer to my strength.” Kira stared at her dumbfounded for a couple of seconds before turning her attention to Caedmon. He nodded his head and looked to one of his warriors. Suddenly everyone started chanting.
“Braeden! Braeden!” Cailean paled as she saw Braeden slowly make his way to the ring. Kira turned to her.
“I guess you’ll be fighting him. I think they want to see the two from Caligo fight.” Cailean stood slowly and made her way to the ring too. She stared at him coldly, hatred flooding through her.
“Is est qua vos ran ut tunc?” The warriors quieted outside of the ring when Cailean spoke. They looked at each other confused and shifted uneasily, not knowing what she was saying. Braeden continued to stare at her before nodding. She snorted.
“Permissum nos adepto is super per tunc. Caligo penicullus alright?” Braeden nodded his head again. Cailean got into her fighting stance and waited for him to attack first.
Braeden could feel Cailean’s hatred flowing throughout her body. He knew it was aimed towards him. Cailean blinked and saw he was gone. She jumped into the air and looked around for him. Turning around she saw him coming down at her. She dodged feeling the force push her as she barely missed being hit. She landed back on the ring and waited for him to land when she summoned a black fog. Kira and Caedmon stood outside the ring. She turned to him with a nervous look.
“Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all. It looks as though they know and don’t like each other.” Caedmon turned his face towards her with a small frown. He nodded his head and turned his attention back to the fighting he could hear inside the fog.
Cailean fell to her knees as she felt a slight burn across her face. Placing her fingers over the cut she pulled them away just as she smelled the blood. Her eyes burned with anger as she turned her attention back to Braeden. His black hair was falling out of the ponytail and small cuts were forming on his face. His eyes were a stormy gray as he glared at her coldly. Her breathing was heavy as she tried to fight off the dizziness that was starting to overcome her. Great, I should have fed before deciding to fight. How I was supposed to know I was going to fight him. I won’t be able to fight for much longer at this rate. Slowly she climbed to her feet and into her fighting stance.
“You left because you couldn’t stand what happened to you. Well guess what. I suffered pretty badly too, but I didn’t run away.” He narrowed his eyes.
“But you don’t know what I ran from or the real reason why.”
“I don’t care, you left without a word. Forgetting all the people you cared for because you were scared. You can’t control your own demons.” Braeden smiled eerily.
“Then let me show you my demons.” He lowered his head before throwing it back with a sickening scream. Before Cailean could react she felt claws grab her arms. She winced as they ripped through her skin. Cailean felt her feet lift off of the ground as she was thrown across the ring.
Cailean could feel the ground underneath her spin. Opening her eyes she quickly closed them when it seemed like everything was going too fast to focus. Tears filled her closed eyes as she tried to get to her knees. Kira and Caedmon watched closely when they noticed the fog becoming thinner. They had heard the grotesque scream and were scared something had happened to one of their fighters. They didn’t dare wander into the mist for fear of getting hit or lost. When the fog was completely gone they saw Cailean on her hands and knees. Blood was dripping out of her mouth as she coughed for air. Kira ran up to her but was pushed away when Cailean refused her help. Caedmon looked to Braeden who stood there emotionless. His hair was plastered against his face which was covered with minor cuts. Cailean finally got to her feet and holding her right arm glared at Braeden. She walked to him and drew a knife out of her belt. Cutting her palm she stopped a couple of feet from him and swung her bloody palm. A trail of blood landed on Braeden’s face but he didn’t move.
“You aren’t the only one with demons. You remember mine? I killed them. But either way I’m dead. Your demons didn’t curse you because you can still live. I’m doomed. Don’t talk to me about demons.” Cailean’s voice cut through Braeden’s calm exterior as he realized his mistake. She turned away from him and started walking towards the palace. She could feel herself losing consciousness. Suddenly, Cailean collapsed to the ground. Kira, Maia and Circe ran to her side. Braeden looked down and closed his eyes. Opening his eyes seconds later he looked to Caedmon who was staring at him angrily. Braeden turned away and walked over to Cailean. He picked her up and started heading towards her room. Kira followed behind him silently questioning what had caused these two to hate each other. When they arrived at Cailean’s room he placed her gently on her bed. Kira stood at the end and watched.
“We need to dress her wounds.” Kira’s voice was shaking. Braeden turned his silent gaze to her. Nodding his head he moved towards the door.
“Find me when you are done. She needs to feed. It will heal her.” Braeden left the room without another word. Kira stared at the closed door before turning her attention back to Cailean. Oh Cailean, what is going on between you two?
Breaking out of her thoughts she heard the children chanting. Suddenly, she felt a wave of cold air blow through the room. The door! Quickly she walked to the front of the house to find the kids jumping around. A small girl stood with her hand on the doorknob.
